1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component assembly employed in electronic equipment such as a television receiver whose electronic component assembly has a rotation preventing mechanism. An example of such an electronic component assembly is an F connector which typically connects an antenna cable to a tuner located inside the cabinet of the electronic equipment.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a plurality of units of electronic equipment such as television receivers and video decks are available for home use. The popularization of such electronic equipment is progressing at an extremely high speed. For this reason, efforts are made to improve the production capability by, for example, simplifying manufacturing processes so as to meet such rising demands and, at the same time, to make maintenance work of the electronic equipment easy to do. An example of results of such efforts is implementation of an installation structure such as an enclosure containing a television receiver into a single structure. That is to say, by reducing the number of structural components constituting the cabinet, for example, the assembly process can be carried out with a high degree of efficiency.
In the case of a television receiver or a video deck, in order to connect a tuner located inside its cabinet to an antenna installed at a place external to the cabinet, a connector hole is provided at a predetermined position on the cabinet. Typically, an F connector or the like passing through such a through hole is used for connecting the tuner to the antenna.
FIGS. 7 to 9 are diagrams showing a typical F connector assembly with FIG. 7 showing a perspective view, FIG. 8 showing a side view and FIG. 9 showing a front view of the assembly. Reference numeral 30 shown in these figures is a connector whereas reference numeral 31 is an F connector for connecting an antenna cable extended from an external antenna. Reference numeral 32 denotes a screw coupler with radial threads cut thereon whereas reference numeral 33 is a flange, typically having a hexagonal shape with six corners 33a. Reference numeral 34 denotes a pin plug to be connected to a tuner provided on a board inside the cabinet of a television receiver.
The connector 30 is inserted into a connector hole from the inside of the cabinet of a television receiver till the flange 33 comes into contact with the back of the connector hole. At that time, the screw coupler 32 protrudes to the outside of the cabinet of the television receiver.
Then, a connection unit provided on an antenna cable is connected to the screw coupler 32 of the F connector 31 protruding out off the connector hole. In the case of a connection unit having a configuration built as a spring mechanism, for example, the connection unit is installed by pushing it toward the screw coupler 32 so as to let the screw coupler 32 be inserted into the connection unit. In the case of a connection unit having a female thread, on the other hand, the connection unit is installed by rotating it around the screw coupler 32 so as to let the connection unit be attached and fixed on the screw coupler 32.
When coupling a connection unit with a female thread to the screw coupler 32, the connector 30 may also be inevitably rotated as well, making it impossible to install the connection unit smoothly. As a result, the connector 30 is difficult to connect. It is therefore necessary to prevent the connector 30 from rotating. In order to solve this problem, another component having a rotation preventing mechanism such as a rear terminal assembly is typically provided on a portion of the connector 30 engaging with the connector hole in order to prevent the connector 30 from being rotated.
However, the use of another component such as the rear terminal assembly increases the number of components and, hence, the number of assembly processes, giving rise to a problem that the cost increases due to the need for a mold for forming the rear terminal assembly or the like.